Well a new year is upon us again, a time when our contemporaries make resolutions about what they will, or will not do, during the new year. Resolutions usually quickly made and quickly forgotten. We should examine ourselves each week, not merely yearly. However, maybe this is a suitable time to review the past year, examining ourselves honestly, reviewing our life in Christ.
I suppose we could ask questions like for example:
- Have I put God first in my life?
- Have I tried faithfully to obey His word?
- How often have I missed going to the meetings?
- Have I tried to follow the readings daily and understand what I read?
- Do I pay attention to the exhortations, Bible class subjects etc?
- Have I supported to the best of my ability the various ecclesial activities during the year?
- What has my attitude been to other brethren and sisters?
- Is the Kingdom the most important thing to me?
- Will this year bring the return of our Master?
- Will I be found watching, waiting and ready?
For those in isolation participation in ecclesia life will not be possible, but each of us need to remember at all times, that we are totally dependent upon God. Indeed as Paul writes "In him we live and move and have our being." God must come first! God is calling out a people to serve him, preparing them to reflect His glory. We have the privilege of having been called to know the truth.
We keep separate from the world because as Paul writes:
"Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?" 2Cor 6:14
We keep separate from other fellowships for the same reason, separating from the error that is within them. Yet we should do none of these things through any sense of pride, or belief that we are more pure in some way, but only out of sincere desire to serve the Lord our God and Jesus our Saviour. Love for God is demonstrated, by a willingness to love him above all else.
Throughout scripture we are exhorted to be united, that we are one body. There cannot be 'unity' if we all go in different directions, or if we are not all working together. Jesus was 'one' with his father, speaking the words of God, perfectly doing the will of God. He was sinless. For this reason he was 'one' with God. How can we be one with God and hence with Jesus and finally each other, if we do not hold to sound doctrine, putting the word into practice in our lives?
Paul writes:
"Fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind." Philippians 2:2
and Peter writes:
"all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another, love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous." 1Peter 3:8
Let us therefore resolve to support, help, encourage, comfort and love each other, so much the more as we see the dawn light of the Kingdom age approaching. Paul exhorts: "let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others." Phil 2:4 and "Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." Gal 6:2 The principle lies in what Christ said to the sheep in the parable recorded in Matt 25:40: "Assuredly, I say to you inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me." So, have our respective ecclesia’s over the past year been somewhere that we have looked forward to going, somewhere we have felt supported and at home? If not, then the answer is not to blame someone else, but look at how we personally can make changes.
Our attitude to life and each other will govern how well we prepare for the return of Jesus and how strong our ecclesia’s are. We read "Cease from anger, and forsake wrath. Do not fret, it only causes harm." Psalm 37:8 How easily we take offence, complain, judge and criticise. Yet how slow to look for good, to show appreciation, to forgive, [and forget] to say thank you, to praise and all the other myriads of things that build up, strengthen and encourage.
Jesus said "you remain in my love if you obey my commands." So what will your resolve be during the coming year?
May this year indeed see the return of the Lord Jesus and the establishment of the Kingdom that we all long and pray for.
Andy P.